Brutal. And the rationale behind the lottery may be true but the flipside could be all the 'useless' people go thus making any sortie pointless or all the 'useful' people go which defeats the purpose. Neither scenario is likely of course but hey it is a lottery. Pretty horrible thing to do, just throwing him the knife so he could finish himself off. Powerful stuff. Good one, Mr Spurrier.

Brutal is indeed the word. I think that's the most genuinely horrified a piece of fiction has made me feel in some time. And I'm not sure how I feel about guessing the motivation for the lottery last week, either. Don sure does come off looking like a heartless bastard, that's for certain.

Also, that panel of the Crossed being mowed down by gunfire? Gorgeous. Horrible, but gorgeous.

It would have been bad seeing a stranger get killed like that, the fact that we sort of knew John (albeit not well but enough) made the situation even worse. I haven't read Badlands yet but imo this is the best Crossed series since the original. And I still think the lottery will be rigged!!!

Don has a point. Skills = life in this world. I didn't understand...did the boy Don was pissed with fuck up and not watch the perimeter or something? Is that how the Crossed got on the island? That part wasn't real clear.

But what is clear is that in a post-Crossed world, your right to survive, beyond beating back the Crossed, is what you bring to the group. You no longer have the luxury of rocking the boat at will and being an asshole just because. In many post-apoc works, people forget that. Dick moves lower your survival quotient in groups.

Dethklok - last ep Lance failed to muffle the bells in the watchtower when everyone pulled back to the "Eden" tip of the island, leaving them clanging in the wind. Someone had to go muffle the bell so all the Crossed in the area wouldn't come looking. But they already had.

Dethklok: It goes back to the previous chapter. The reason why John had to cross the wire in the first place was because the boy forgot (or was lazy and couldn't be bothered) to take down the alarm bells at the end of the day, which left them jangling in the wind and advertising "Get Hot Teen Action Here!" to any Crossed in earshot; this made it necessary to go out and take them down properly. Of course, it'd be a million to one chance that there'd be a Crossed warband in the vicinity the very same night the bell was noisy, but in the words of Sir Terry, million to one chances occur nine times out of ten! ;)

Also, I agree that "it's only piss!" is a vile, but brilliantly inspired, line. If that's the last shreds that they're clinging to, it certainly conveys that the Cavans are really in the pits.

Sorry I've been too busy to comment. Last few episodes have been breathtaking.

"There's no moral to the story." No, there really isn't, because a moral would imply that Shaky knows anything about anything, but who knows what's right or wrong in the world of the Crossed?

Who knows what's right or wrong in our world today?

Don is certainly a formidable politician. He seemed to relish having an opponent like Shaky who could so clearly articulate the opposing viewpoint. He knew exactly what to say following John's death that would underline his own point.

It's worth pointing out that John probably is a "better" man than Shaky, and probably more of the kind of man who is necessary for the survival of the species... but Shaky is still alive. Shaky may feel a little guilty or embarrassed that he didn't offer himself up for the suicide mission... but he didn't let those feelings stop him from preserving himself. In fact, as other readers have observed, Shaky has an almost unbelievable ability to stay alive in the most unlkely circumstances. Lucky cunt indeed. So who is truly more expendable? The brave soldier who nobly sacrifices his own life? Or the freethinker who will do what's best for the group... as long as his own needs are always met as well?

In some ways Don was directly telling Shaky he might need him to stay behind because although he probably doesn't like him, Shaky has his head screwed on straight. I agree the sortie could still be rigged. But it probably means a death sentence.